Riviera di Levante

Small compact fishing villages and picturesque coastal towns built at the cliffy coast. The colourful faces of the buildings shine in the sun at the Riviera di Levante, Italy.

This is the romantically wild part of Liguria between Genoa and the peninsula with the town of Portofino.

Cinque Terre©flickr/Josef Grunig

You can easily get here by train and plane via Genoa. From Milano it is about an hour by car. And there is a good railway connection between the villages along the coast. The Cinque-Terre region has magnificent hiking trails that all are connected with each other.

There also are beautiful beaches along the cliffy coast. Golfo di La Spezia has little bays with beaches on the east side, Monterosso has a magnificent beach in town, Isola Palmaria, Sestri Levante and Moneglia also are pretty nice.

Historically seen this fairly small coastal area has a lot to offer too. There are the museum in the abbey of San Fruttuose (San Fruttuoso’s Abbazia di Capo di Monte), the Basilica dei Fieschi near Chiavari, and the Cathedral of Sarzana. In Luni you can see an archaeological excavation site and in La Spezia you can visit the archaeological museum Amedeo Lia.

Scenic Highlights are the peninsula of Portofino, the Golfo di La Spezia and of course the Cinque-Terra-Coast which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The climate in the region is moderate with low rainfall and the forests along the coast are perfect for hiking tours even in summer. From early summer until autumn it is warm enough to go swimming and most of the time the quality of the water is good.

Culinary delights are the Italian pesto, olives, olive oil, antipasti and of course fresh fish.

You can also go on day trips to San Remo and Monaco or visit the casinos there and go whale-watching. There are dances in many of the small towns. And if you got enough of the beautiful nature you can as well visit cities like Genoa or Milano.